A (Cyber) Friend In Need is a (Cyber) Friend Indeed

Once upon a time, not so long ago we lived in a technophobic land of strong mistrust that seems almost mythical in today’s social networking life of, well, social networks.

If I wasn’t being warned at school that the 12 year old boyband fangirl I was talking to on MSN messenger was really a 50 year old man trying to groom me, I was hearing horror stories from my mum of how I would be cyber mugged by the fraudy internet monsters if I ever bought anything from eBay. The message given to myself & every other born-in-the-late-80s-but-grew-up-in-the-90s child was that the internet was the root of all evil & nobody on the entire World Wide Web should ever be trusted. Ever.

But now, in 2013, that whole notion has been forgotten. And rightly so because being in a constant state of paranoia every time you log on is an unhealthy way for anyone to live but when – like me – you spend so much time alone, having that online “company” is an absolute god send... Even if everyone you chat to is a fraudulent paedophile, as warned.

I’m one of the lucky ones; everyone I have spoken to online has always been genuine. People from my early chat room use, through my Street Teaming fan forum days, right up to my current Twitter addiction have always been who they said they were. And not only have they been true to their A/S/Ls, but some have grown to be amongst the best friends I have ever had, whose paths I would never have crossed if it hadn’t been for the wonder of the internet.

There is very little I can bring to the table when it comes to meeting new “real life” people as I’ve always been somewhat of a loner who never has any interesting answers to the ice breaking “what are you into?/What have you been up to?”, but I’ve always had keen interests in things that quite handily come complete with their own little online community of like-minded, let’s say, “enthusiasts”.

My first love was boybands & when I was old enough to have my own computer, I threw myself into making internet fan groups for others to gather in & share with me their love of boybands & boybanders. This turned into me being recruited as the Junior Assistant Leader of Busted’s official, record company lead Street Team, which saw me being head hunted (yes, I was still a 15 year old internet loner at this point) by the management of another boyband I followed to create & maintain a Street Team for them.

I spent every spare minute sitting on an arse-numbingly uncomfortable computer chair with these projects & through them I became a surprising social whirlwind! Granted, I spoke to computer screens via my hands as opposed to verbally speaking audible words to actual human people, but I chatted to so many new people from so many different walks of life & even made friends with many of them, all through a shared love of the borderline stalking of cheesy boybands.

 

Busted-lovin', Spice Girl posin' adventures
over the years with Frankie

Some of the friends I’d made online were such good friends that they – shock horror! – became real people beyond their usernames & became part of my personal, offline life. Online socialising became real life socialising & these online geeks became genuine friends who I loved the bones of, who shared amazing experiences with me, who were there for me, who I would never have had the pleasure of ever getting to know had it not been for the big bad world of the evil internet.

I’m proud to say that a small handful of these shameless boyband lovers who I made friends with when I was 14 years old are still two of my closest friends today in my adult life. So what if I only see them once in a blue moon? They’ve still been two of the best friends who have been there for me through first boyfriends, going to university, moving into my first house, cancelling my wedding (that’s another story for another time...!), getting ridiculously drunk & even sharing hotel rooms with me while I have noisy one night stands. Yes, true friendships!

 

From boybands to wrestlings to out-of-hours
hotelling with Lise

 

 

And as I’ve grown up & fallen in love with other hobbies such as burlesque & wrestling, this whole online-acquaintence-met-via-shared-interest-becoming-genuine-real-life-friend thing has grown too with even more true friendships blossoming from even more obscure walks of life.

 

Burly girlies from all of the everywheres, as seen on t'internets.

 

In my “real” life I would never associate with an arrogant, promiscuous, semi-professional boxer who has manicures even more regularly than I do, yet I find this very person being a great friend with whom I’ve had some hilarious experiences thanks to a shared interest as discovered via the internet.

I would never have encountered a bi-polar, mother-of-one who is a metalhead of a handcrafter if it hadn’t been for social media & I would never have been lucky enough to meet her in person to form such a treasured friendship with if it hadn’t been for live shows... That had been promoted to us via social media!

Parents & teachers always like to think they’re always right in everything they have ever said & done but they couldn’t have been any more wrong in their warnings about the dangers of the internet to me, because without the wonder of the internet I wouldn’t have as many cherished & sincere friends (with whom I actually have so little in common with!) as I do today. Some of them can be absolute twats & sometimes I wish I’d never even typed that first “hello” to after the heartache they cause through meaningless text, but I love them dearly. I’m honoured to call the people behind the display photos my friends & wouldn’t be without any of them. Ever.

 

Booby snuggles with Anna

 

NB: Yes. Yes I know there are still cases of online fraud & grooming & they are truly awful but, gimme a break! This is a gushy blog about the beauties I’ve befriended via the internet, not a controversial discussion about politics & society. Pfffft!